Espanyol boss Manolo González has been previewing tomorrow’s Catalan derby with Barcelona as his team come up against Lamine Yamal and Co.
[Barca head into the match fresh from a brilliant win over Real Madrid](https://www.barcablaugranes.com/2025/5/11/24426146/barcelona-real-madrid-la-liga-el-clasico-final-score-match-report-recap-reactions) in El Clasico, and Gonzalez knows his team are in for a tough game.
Gonzalez was asked about how he plans to stop Barca and Yamal and offered up the following response.
> “Defend a lot and run a lot, which is what we did against Madrid and other days. Very good players have come in and we have managed to make the teams suffer here and that is what we must do tomorrow. That they are not comfortable, run a lot and be organized.
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> “It’s a demanding match and also the level that Lamine Yamal brings today is important. But I repeat, the day Madrid came here they did it at a high level and we managed to stop them too”.
Barcelona could potentially win the league with victory on Thursday, while Espanyol are still not completely safe from the drop.
González says his team are determined to win to escape relegation.
> “We want to save ourselves as soon as possible. We have to be calm, forget the first half against Leganés, and for the team to be competitive again,” he added.
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> “The players are angry because we were not good in the previous match, wanting to vindicate ourselves. The objective is to stay in the league, and we are in a good position to be saved.”
Barca will be eagerly watching Real Madrid’s match before they take on Espanyol. If [Los Blancos fail to beat Mallorca later](https://www.barcablaugranes.com/2025/5/14/24429638/clinching-scenarios-how-barcelona-can-win-la-liga-title), then Barca will be champions again.